Kitchen Detective -- Perfecting The Bloody Mary

Thursday

May 3, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 3, 2007 at 3:19 AM

The Bloody Mary, also known as a Virgin Mary or Bloody Shame when served without alcohol, is substantial enough to be worthy of real investigation. After all, it contains a lot more than tomato juice and vodka. Worcestershire and Tabasco are a must but what about all those other ingredients that crop up from time to time, some of them as nutty as shrimp or salami?

Christopher Kimball

Starting with the essentials, we based the drink on eight ounces (one cup) of tomato juice. This will actually yield two cocktails as we felt it is seldom that you’re actually drinking one alone. Although vodka is often called odorless and tasteless we found that all brands do not taste alike. We suggest that you use one of the top shelf brands such as Smirnoff or Absolut (Grey Goose would be our top choice) rather than the inexpensive brands, which we find to be harsh. To our eight ounces of tomato juice we added just two ounces of vodka, making a cocktail that can be served at lunch or when you want something on the light side in terms of alcohol. Without the flavor of salt and pepper the drink falls flat. We added a couple of pinches of salt and a couple grinds of black pepper.

Worcestershire adds depth and interest but just one-quarter teaspoon did the trick. The same was true of the Tabasco. We preferred lime to lemon juice in our Bloody Mary and three fourths of a teaspoon was just right. For many people horseradish is the signature ingredient in a Bloody Mary. It adds a sharp, earthy flavor that is unmistakable. We love its flavor and added one and one half teaspoon to achieve the impact we were looking for.

Ingredients that did not pass muster included orange juice, clam juice, and beef broth. Garnishes that seemed beyond the pale were shrimp, cheese and salami. As for the vegetables we tried several. We most favored the classic celery stalk and lime wedge but thought a small pick of olives weren’t bad. The pickles were intrusive, the carrots too hard, the tomato too difficult to bite into, and the mushrooms, well, inedible.

BLOODY MARY

If making Bloody Mary’s for a party, the recipe can be done up in large batches (apart from the vodka) and kept refrigerated for several hours. Just before serving add the vodka and taste for seasoning as the flavors may have mellowed.